Floor-surfacing machine



Aug. so, 1927. 1,640,933

| M. GRngs FLOOR SURFACING MACHINE Filed Nov. lO(l 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet l u 30 1 2 A g 9 7 L. M. GRlEs FLOOR SURFACING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. l0, 1925 1,640,933 Aug- 30 1927- M. GRIES FLOOR SURFACING MACHINE Filed Nov. 1o, 1925 sheets-sheet 5 @Hoz nalga.

Patented Aug. 30,

UNITED s'rA'ms LESTER M. .GRIES, OF DIEILROI'III,` MICHIGN, ASSIGNOR, BY DIECT AND MESNE AB- PATENT- OFFICE.

sIGNMENTs, or ONE-HALF To UNITED TOOL AND MANUFACTURING Co., OF DE# TBOIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN, AND ONE-HALF TO MASTER WOoDwOaxnn MANUFACTURING CO., or DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION or MICHIGAN.

FLOOR-SURFACING MACHINE.

Application led November 10, 1925. Serial No. 68,093'.

This invention relates to a floor surfacing machine, and has reference to that classof machines including a motor driven sanding drum that may be moved over a floor forv sanding and leveling a floor. My invention aims to provide a surfaclng machine that is light in weight, easy to ma- Ynipulate, properly balanced for a desired be characterized in the following particu- I lars.

First, there isa motor driven sanding drum arranged to be shifted transversely of the machine and driven in any position it may be placed. Itis by virtue of this shiftable driven drum that sanding close to a wall may be easily accomplished, thus reducing to a minimum the operation of hand leveling or sanding after the machine has 80v "and varied by theoperator of the machine been used. p

Second, there` is a three-wheel supported carriage or machine body with one ofA the wheels serving as a caster, and means is Vassociated with the caster for raising and lowering it relative to the carriageor body of the machine, so thata' desired degree of pressure may be very delicately controlled in connection with the sandingdrum'. It is by virtue of this caster that the machine may have a two-wheel support to vpermit of it being readily moved about.

Third, a dust collecting device is associated with the machine and operated from the motor thereofand this device is adapted to remove dust from the sanding drum and the Hoor in proximity thereto so that -the o erator may readily observe the level conf dition of a surface and carry on sanding Operations with a minimum interference by and ,some of the parts are assembled so aS to be readily disassembled tri/"facilitate transportation. l

The surface machine will'be hereinafter v specifically described and then claimed, and

reference will now be had to the drawings, wherein 4 i Figure l is a perspective view ofthe floor surfacing machine;

Fig. 2 san enlarged same with a few parts removed;

`Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view. of the machine;

Fig. et is a plan ofthe same, with the motor removed and the sanding drum in horizontal section;

Fig. 5 is another longitudinal sectional vie'v of the machine, partly broken away, an

Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of a the machine. Y

The machine as now constructed and used includes a substantially rectangular body or frame having side Walls' 1 and 2 connected by an inclined top Wall 8. The side walls 1 and 2 contiguous tothe forward edges thereof, are provided with bearings 4 'for an axle 5 having wheels 6 at the outer sides-of the walls 1 and 2.

Projectingiforwardly from the side Walls 1 and 2, adjacent the top wall 3 are downwardly inclined arms 7 and 8 which are suitably secured `to the walls 1 and 2 with the portion of arm 7 offset relative to the wall 1 by a .o

spacer 9. The outer ends of the arms 7 and 8 are formed with bearings 10 provided with' suitable Wall buffers 11 and journaled in said bearings are the ends of a drum` shaft 12 having a sprocket or power'transmission wheel v13 adjacent the'bearing 10. Slidably mounted .-on the shaft 12 and held for rotation with said shaft` by a longitudinal spline `or key 14 is asanding drum` 15 of less width than .the distance between .go

the larms 7 and 8, so that said drum may be shifted back and forth on the shaft 12 and transverselyof the machine. The sanding drum- 15 is essentially limited to a length substantially less than the distance or tracking widthA between the wheels 6, so that one end of 'said drum may be. located adjacent to the plane of one or theotherof the side wheels 6, the purpose of ywhichwillhereinafter appear. The sanding drum is of a conventional design and.. construction orf dinarilyj including a body 16 supporting `bottom plan of the lsand paper 17and the construction ofthe drum and the manner in which the sandpaper is held so as to be renewed from time to time forms no part of the present invention. It is obvious that there are various types ofv surfacing drums or devices that can be mounted on the shaft 12.to be rotated thereby relative to a floor or other surface on which -themachine is operated.

The top wall 3 of the machine body is provided with studs v18 by which a motor base 19 may be adjustably mounted on the wall 3. An electric motor 20 is mountedon the base 19, said motor being of a'. conventional form provided with a switch 21 and leading-in conductors which will permit of the motor being operated from an ordinary electric light circuit or other source of electrical energy. The motor 20 has its armalcarried by the outer side of the wall 2. On

the shaft 28 is a potver transmission wheel 30 for a belt 31 trained over the wheel 25 so that the motor 20`may drive the fan 27.

The suction ldevice has an intake connection 32 suitably coupled to the neck 33 of a transversely disposed intake nozzle 34,

having its ends Aattached by bosses and nut equipped screw bolts 35.4to inturned anges 36 of the sidewalls 1 and 2. The nozzle 34 extends transversely of the machine, approximates'the .length of the shaft 12, ex-vn tral guide 41 for a sliftable tends under the drum 15 in proximity to the floor and provides a'wide vopen mouth to receive dust from the drum and the fioor.

Thesuction device 26 `has an outlet connection 37 for a stand pipe 38 provided withl a return bend 39 from which is suspended a bag or lreceptacle 40 adapted to receive the dust or other foreign matter drawn into the nozzle 34.

The rearl edge of the top wall 3 hasa cenin'42 which has its lower end provided wit a spool 43,

anl anti-frictional roller bearing 44 and abearing 45 for a single wheel 46, said bearing and wheel constituting a casten rotatably y supported from the pin 42 .and adapted to'be held normally on the ioor by the expansive force of acoiled springk 47 encircling the pin 42 between the spool 43 and the guide 41.

Adjacent the guide 41'is a hanger 48 cooperating with a bearing 49 ofthe side wall 1 in a rock shaft 50 provided with a 'fork 51 o rativelv en a the spool 43. The out: end of thegrdgdkgshaft 50 has a'crank 52 pivotally connected by a reach rod to a lever 54 having its side arms 55 pivotally mounted between brackets 56, carried by a handle frame 57. The handle 'frame extends upwardly and rearwardly at an inclination from the" machine body or frame and the lower end of the handle frame is suitably mounted in sockets 58,

carried by the side walls 1 and4 2. The f' -lever 54 is in proximity to the handle bar 59 of the handle frame 57 so that the hands gripping the bar 59 may 'also grip the lever l54 and hold it inproximity to the handle bar 59 whereby the caster will engage the floor and support the rear end ofthe machine body somewhatelevated to transfer part of the weight of the machine` to the sanding drum and thus produce pressure of said drum on the floor as the/machine isy moved back and forth during a 'sanding operation. A suitable clip or holdfast device 60 adjacent one of the brackets 56 will permit of the leverV being secured in one position when the `caster is elevated against the expansive force of the spring v47v and it l lis ,with the caster. in this position, as shown in/fFig.` 3, lthat the machine can be readily moved about. It can be tilted'relative to the axle 5 with the front andrear ends of the machine off ofthe fioor and in such rposition transferred from one location to another. It is in this connection that the electric motor 20 Ican be removed to divide the load of carryingthe machine from one floor to anotherif twoor more operators loo are not present to bodily carry the machine. I

I attach considerable importance to the arrangement of the caster relative to` the sanding drum and the leverage between the caster and the lever, because the lever can be easily held-bythey same hands' on the handle bar of the machinel and it is this special control that causes the drum'to roduce pressure on'the floor-at the will o the operator, without any tiresome lifting of the handle bar to lower the forward end of the machine. The sanding drum'when in operation providesV a forward pull for the machine,and it is the.- hold. back powerl of the operator that producesy a pressure 1n connection with the caster to raise the' rear end of the machine and exert pressure on 12 0 the drum. Obviously this pressure can be very readily controlled and varied by the -amount of hold back that the` operator applies to the handle bar and lever, which are close enough together to be held at the sante time. Y

I als attach considerable importance to the sidewise movementof the sanding drum because it maybe shifted forV engagement with a surface, without a sidewise -movement of the lnachine in its entirety. The

wheels-gand t e drum may engage a door. If the drum encounters a high spot one slde of the drum is raised and the sidewheel behind it lifted relative to the floor, throw; ing almost the entire weight of the machine on that part of the drum in'contact with the high spot.A This is entirely automatic. The operatorfeeling the throw, when the wei ht on the wheelA 6 is lessened can transfer hold to the lever depressing the caster wheel and relatively raising the wheel 6 whereby the entire Weight of that side of the machine is carried by-the drum and' the caster,` and the high spot is leveled. Further when a hump in the floor lis engaged by the sanding drum and the operator forces down on the caster wheel transferring the weight fromV a side wheel6 to the castor wheel and the sanding drum on that side of the machine, there is some tendency to also relatively transfer the weight on the other side of the machine to the drum on that side, where there' is no hump in the floor, and consequently the drum might b'e caused to produce a hollow in the floor. This is prevented, however, because ofthe restricted length of the sanding drum, there being no abrading portion of the drum adjacent to the .wheel on the other side of the machine, therefore any grinding of a hollow spot is impossible. This is all brought about by the slidability of the drum permitting the placing of the relatively short drum ateither si eof the machine, and it is in this oonnection that the operation, as outlined above, is reversible as to the two sides of the machine.

It is thought that the operation and utilig of my machine will be apparent without rther description, and while i the drawing-there. is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the machine, it is to be understood that the structural elements are susceptible V to such variations and modifications as fall within the'scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A surfacing machine comprising a body, side wheels supporting' said body intermediate the ends thereol a caster supporting the rear end of said body, a surfacing i supported at the forward end of sai body, and of a length materiall less than thedistance between said si e wheels, said2 drum being shiftable from one side of said body to thevother side, driving means for N said drum, and means on said body adapted to facilitate raising and lowering the rear end of said body relative to said caster, said means 1 being eil'ective in throwing the weight of said body on said caster, said drum and one of said side Wheels, the particular wheel depending on the position of said drum relative to said body. f, In testimony whereof `I 'aix my signature.

LESTER M. Gams. 

